Portofino. Arrive by water for the best of it, with the car waiting in Santa Margherita.
One narrow corniche in, a permanent restricted zone at the end of it, and a harbour that takes a handful of large yachts. Almost every good Portofino plan involves arriving by water for at least part of it.
The essentials
Portofino at a glance
- The nearest airportGenoa Cristoforo Colombo (GOA)About 45 kilometres west. Allow 45 minutes to an hour and a quarter by road, the last part of it slow.
- The bigger oneMilan Linate (LIN)Around 200 kilometres. Two and a quarter to three hours by road, and the usual answer when the aircraft is larger.
- The harbourMolo Umberto IThe central quay takes six or seven large yachts up to roughly 64 metres, with mooring and anchorage arrangements outside for more.
- Cannone bayMoorings up to about 80 metresJust outside the harbour mouth, with anchoring in the bay in settled weather and a short tender run to the piazzetta.
- Car accessPermanent ZTL, cameras 24 hoursThe village is effectively pedestrian. Vehicles over six metres long or 2.3 metres wide are banned at Portofino and Paraggi.
- The practical baseSanta Margherita LigureAbout five kilometres round the headland, with room for cars, and a boat link that is often quicker than the road.
- Protected waterPortofino marine protected areaZoned since 1999 across Camogli, Portofino and Santa Margherita. Anchoring is prohibited in the strictest zone and controlled elsewhere.
- Peak weeksLate June to early SeptemberAugust is the tightest. May, June and late September are the months regular visitors quietly prefer.
Getting in
One road, and it is not a big one
Portofino is reached by a single coastal road from Santa Margherita Ligure that hugs the cliff for about five kilometres, narrowing and twisting most of the way. It is a beautiful drive and a slow one, and in high summer it queues. At the end of it the village is a permanent restricted traffic zone enforced by cameras around the clock, with entry limited to residents and authorised vehicles, so a car does not simply pull up outside a hotel in the piazzetta. Vehicles longer than six metres or wider than 2.3 metres are not allowed on that stretch at all, which rules out the larger people carriers people often assume they will use.
What works is straightforward. Cars are held in Santa Margherita or at the parking structure above the village, guests are set down where vehicles are permitted and walked the short distance in, and the chauffeur waits within a few minutes' call. For a group, the water is usually better than the road: the run round from Santa Margherita takes a quarter of an hour and lands you at the quay rather than on the hill above it.
Getting there
Realistic transfer ranges
| From | By road | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Genoa (GOA) | 45 minutes to 1 hour 15 | The nearest airport, and short enough for a light aircraft to make sense |
| Milan Linate | 2 hours 15 to 3 hours | The usual choice for anything larger. See Linate handling |
| Santa Margherita Ligure | 15 to 30 minutes | Or about 15 minutes by water, which is often quicker |
| Rapallo | 25 to 40 minutes | The nearest mainline station, useful for a rail leg from Milan |
| Lake Como | 3 hours to 3 hours 30 | A long but straightforward motorway run |
| Monaco | About 2 hours 30 to 3 hours | Along the Ligurian coast motorway |
Realistic ranges, not promises. Summer weekends on the coast road and the last five kilometres into the village are the variable part.
By sea
A small harbour with a long waiting list
The harbour is the point of Portofino and it is tiny. The central quay, Molo Umberto I, can hold six or seven large yachts up to somewhere around 64 metres, and outside the harbour mouth there are moorings in Cannone bay for vessels of about 80 metres, along with designated anchorage areas and floating jetties a short distance off. In practice that means a summer berth here is arranged early and confirmed by your captain's agent, not assumed.
The surrounding water is a marine protected area, zoned since 1999 and covering the coast from Camogli round to Santa Margherita. Anchoring is prohibited altogether in the strictest zone and regulated in the others, so where you may drop and where you may not is a question with a real answer that changes by location. Your captain will have it. What we handle is the land side: a car waiting at Santa Margherita when the tender comes in, a run over to Genoa for the aircraft, or a day out to Tuscany or the Cinque Terre while the yacht repositions. See yacht charter and superyachts of 50 to 80 metres.
Planning it well
What regular visitors do
- Assume the last five kilometres are the slow part and plan the arrival time backwards from that, not from the airport
- Do not ask for a large people carrier into the village. The width and length limits on that road are real and enforced
- Use the water for groups. Santa Margherita to the quay is about fifteen minutes and lands you where you actually want to be
- Settle the berth or the mooring before the dates are fixed if you are arriving by yacht in July or August
- Take dinner in the village and let the car hold on the hill. Being walked in beats being stuck on the corniche at nine in the evening
- Think about late May, June and the second half of September. The village is the same and the road is a different thing entirely
Nearby
The rest of Italy
Start planning
Tell us the dates and the party
Dates, how many of you, and where you are staying: a yacht, a villa or a hotel. Tell us the aircraft if you have one and where it can land, and we will come back with the road leg, the water alternative and an honest view of the last five kilometres. Nothing is booked or charged online.
Prefer to talk? +44 2030 048300 or WhatsApp, at any hour.
Questions people ask
About Portofino
Can the car take us into the village?
Only as far as the permitted set down. Portofino is a permanent restricted zone with cameras running around the clock, and vehicles over six metres long or 2.3 metres wide are banned on that road. Your chauffeur sets you down where it is allowed and waits close by.
Which airport is best?
Genoa is nearest at about 45 kilometres and suits smaller aircraft. Milan Linate is the usual answer for anything larger, at two and a quarter to three hours by road.
Can a large yacht berth in Portofino?
The central quay takes six or seven yachts up to roughly 64 metres, with moorings in Cannone bay for about 80 metres and anchorage outside. Summer berths go early, and your captain's agent confirms them.
Is it quicker by boat?
From Santa Margherita, usually. About fifteen minutes on the water against a slow corniche drive, and it lands you at the quay instead of above the village.
Are these your own cars?
Our own cars and chauffeurs are in London and Manchester, and a trusted global network covers everywhere else. In Liguria cars are arranged through operators we know, and one person at Odyssey holds the itinerary together.
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